Herb Crêpes with Smoked Trout Paté and Cucumber Sauce

METHOD

1.  Sieve the flour into a bowl and make a dent in the middle. Break the eggs into this hollow and, stirring all the time with a flat whisk, mix the eggs in, at the same time adding the milk.

2.  When all is mixed, stir briskly and add the salt and pepper, the melted butter and the herbs. Leave the batter to stand for at least 30 minutes before making the crêpes.

3.  To do this, you need a nonstick crêpe/ omelette pan. Stir the batter well – this is essential after it’s been resting. Heat the pan, add the 15g (½oz) of butter and pour in a small amount of the batter, tipping and tilting the pan as you do so to get an even, thin film of batter over the base.

4.  Cook for about half a minute, then gently flip it over to cook on its other side. When it looks pale and slightly lacy, slip the crêpe onto a plastic tray or plate to cool. Repeat until all the batter has been used up.

5.  Only stack the crêpes when they have cooled. When all the crêpes are made, cover them with a cloth or some clingfilm.

6.  Flake the flesh of the smoked trout from the skin and bones. It is worth taking time over this, removing as many tiny bones as you possibly can, as it will make the pâté so much better.

7.  Put all the pâté ingredients into a food processor and whizz till smooth.

8.  The parsley flecks the pâté with green, which breaks up the otherwise beige appearance. Spread half of each crêpe with pâté and roll up into a cigar shape. Put the rolled-up crêpes onto a serving plate.

9.  Mix together the crème fraîche and single cream and season with the salt and lemon juice. Peel the cucumber using a potato peeler, cut it into chunks, split each chunk in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds from each half using a teaspoon.

10. Chop the peeled and deseeded cucumber chunks into small, neat dice and stir them into the creamy textured sauce.

11. Pour the sauce into a bowl and serve to accompany the crêpes so your guests can help themselves.